November 2017 Committee Note

Post Reply
jpetillo
Posts: 759
Joined: August 26th, 2006, 2:54 pm

November 2017 Committee Note

Post by jpetillo »

The Committee would like to give an update to the Spec Tire being considered for Formula Vee.

With regard to the choosing of a Spec Tire for FV, as everyone probably knows, the primary results of the survey indicated a desire for a longer lasting tire with the feel (experience) of a racing slick, without giving up too much in performance. Also, as is commonly known, only Hoosier came to the table with a test tire targeting those criteria for consideration.

We realize that process of choosing a spec tire has certainly taken much longer than anticipated. As many of you know, the test tire from Hoosier originally had some limited testing in 2016 for feel, experience and performance, but had not been run enough to be tested for longevity. This was mostly due to the time of year the test tires became available. After the 2016 testing, the FV Advisory Committee got to review those test results. The early findings were varied, but the tires had not been tested for longevity. We felt adequate testing for longevity was important to have done. Subsequently, there was additional testing done with that same lot of tires during the second half of 2017 in an attempt to give us some information on performance and longevity. This new information was helpful and looked positive, but still did not sufficiently answer the question of expected longevity compared with that of the current slick.

The Committee is very much aware that FV transitioning to a spec tire will have an upfront additional cost for almost everyone, and we want to make sure that the cost is recovered by the long-term benefit, since cost of ownership is the reason to consider a spec tire in the first place. Making the decision without adequate or conclusive data was too much of a risk, we felt. Hoosier tells us that the FV tire is unlike the tire used by SM and FF of the same compound, not only because of the bias vs. radial difference, but because of the unique characteristic of the Vee chassis and suspension coupled with the dimensions of the tires. So, a direct comparison could not be made to those tires in order to judge expected performance vs. longevity for the test FV tire.

At this time, after discussions between Hoosier and the Committee, Hoosier recommended a specific testing plan that should help answer the questions of both the Committee and the FV community, and the Committee agreed with it. The testing plan will be coordinated by Committee members, and done in conjunction with, and with support from, Hoosier. The plan should have testing commencing sometime in January, and end on the June timeframe. At that time the test results should give us the information needed to understand if the test tires give us the benefit we were targeting, and to decide if we are good to go with them for 2019.

If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thank you,

The FV Advisory Committee
John Petillo,
Stephen Saslow,
Charlie Turner,
Dennis Andrade,
Al Varacins,
Mitchell Ferguson
BLS
Posts: 441
Joined: May 11th, 2011, 7:52 pm

Re: November 2017 Committee Note

Post by BLS »

Thanks for the update, John.

Good to know this hasn't gone away.
Barry
Old Zink FV,
'87 Citation
jpetillo
Posts: 759
Joined: August 26th, 2006, 2:54 pm

Re: November 2017 Committee Note

Post by jpetillo »

You're welcome, Barry. No, it hasn't gone away at all.
aqualls
Posts: 92
Joined: January 27th, 2009, 9:24 pm

Re: November 2017 Committee Notes

Post by aqualls »

I would like to request that this committee’s notes be widely distributed. This forum has less subscribers than in the past. A lot has moved to social media because it is one-stop shopping (and login). Most people go to Facebook or Twitter to get information. Stevan Davis sends out a summary to the registry but unfortunately that list is not complete. I urge the committee to make every effort possible to disseminate information through all channels. (Apex and this forum only reaches a subset of the FV population...). Thank you.
jpetillo
Posts: 759
Joined: August 26th, 2006, 2:54 pm

Re: November 2017 Committee Note

Post by jpetillo »

Hi Anna, I will forward your request. John
Post Reply